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DESK.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 2, 1909.

Patented Nov. 2, 1909.

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APPLICATION FILED JULY 2, 1909.

Patented Nov. 2; 1909.

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DESK.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 2, 1909. 939,125. Patented N0v.2, 1909.

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APPLICATION FILED JULY 2, 1909.

Patented Nov. 2, 1909.

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NELLIE E. CFEALY, OF WASHINGTON, DISTFICT OF COLUMBIA.

DESK.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 2, 1909.

Application filed m 2, 1909. Serial No. 505,594.

' To all whom it may concernf Be it known that I, NELLIE E. FEALY, a citizen of .the United. States, residing at \Vashington, District of Columbia, have invented certain new and. useful Improvements in and Relating to Desks, of which the following is a specification.

Heretofore with fiat top desks and particularly in large .or double fiat top desks many objections have been found in their use on account of the fact that all the otlice utensils and materials, such as ink-stands, pen and pencil trays or supports, paste bottles, clip boxes, etc., and trays for holding current correspondence and ofiice records, so that they might be in convenient position for use, had to be placed on the desk top, thus leavin little working space and operating as dust collectors and making the desk unsanitary and inconvenient to clean, as well as untidy in appearance. I

The object of my invention is to provide a desk having compartments leading from its top surface and preferably arranged within the border thereof, adapted to receive and hold all the-materials, such as ink-stands, pens and pencils, etc., and oflice records and correspondence necessary in the use of the desk, whereby the top thereof may be kept clear of all such materials and articles, records and correspondence, and the work of the person or clerk using the desk facilitated. i

Another object of the invention is to provide a desk having sunken compartments leading from its top surface to receive'the oflice materials, records and correspondence, and a cover or covers for said compartments, whereby the said materials, utensils, records and correspondence may be readily closed within the desk out of sight and from dust and dirt and the desk top cleared.

A further object of the invention is to provide a desk having aseries of trays along one or both sides thereof and arranged with their upper edges in a. plane with or below the top of. the said desk.

A further object of the invention consists in arranging a waste basket or tra within one of the slde members of the dos and in providing a spring-operated hinged panel elevation of the desk.

for permittin access to the waste basket or tray within t e desk;

Further objects of the invention consist in the combination or combinations of parts, hereinafter shown, described and claimed.

For the purpose of illustration, I have, in the accompanying drawings, shown and herein described one form of desk embodyin my invention.

igure 1 is a perspective view of a desk embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a frontfragmentary top plan views thereof. Fig. 5 is a sectional view on line 5-5 of Fig. 3. Fig. 6 is a section on line 66 of Fig. 3. Fig. 7 is a detail view. Fig. 8 is a section on line 88 of Fig. v3, looking in the direction of the arrow. Fig. 9 is a sectional view similar to Fig. 8, illustrating a modification of the inventlon.

In the drawings: 1 indicates a desk, referably a fiat top desk, which may be .0 any suitable or preferred general construction. The desk is preferably a large or double flat Figs. 3 and 4 are,

top desk having a top 1 formed with writing surfaces 1*, 1",-a-nd side members 1, 1.

2 indicates an opening, having a main portion 3, and branch ortions 4., 5, at the opposite ends of the mam portion 3, formed in the desktop 1 and preferably arranged centrally therein in order that the desk may be used on'opposite sidesor as a double desk.

compartments 4, 5.

As shown in the drawings, the plate 6 in each compartment 4, 5, forms a slde wall cotiperating with' a wall 4 along the opposite side of the said compartment. Preferably the inner faces of the plates 6 and walls 4 are each provided with a series of alined grooves 4", which are adapted to support one or more dividers 4 to divide the compartment into spaces ofvar ing sizes to suit the number of cards, recor s or memoranda which may be filed therein in classified and systematic order.

4; indicate ribs or projections carried by to suit the size of the materialsand utensils the opposite side walls and plates of each compartment 4, 5, adapted to form a sup port or rest for abottom P, or a tray 9, as

. shown in dotted lines in Fig. 5.

7 indicates a cover for each compartment 4 and 5, provided with means for slidably and pivotally'mounting it in the desk. For this purpose, each ofthe walls 4: is separated from the adjacent edge of the openings 4 and 5 to form a recess 7 which recelves the cover when access to the compartment is desired. The means for slidably and pivotally mounting the cover prefer ably comprise vertical grooves 7 formed in the opposite ends of the recess 7", and .pins 7 which are carried bythe opposite ends of the covers 7, slidable 1n said grooves.

the cover 7 in the-recess 7. To close the opening, the cover is raised vertically until ment of the cover from the desk and cooperate with the pins 7 c to permit the cover to i swing downwardly. In order to permit the cover to be placed in position, one end of each recess 7 may be provided with a removable block 7 I The main compartment 3 may be provided with a cover similar to the cover 7 provided for each of the side'compartments 4, 5, but on account of the width of this compartment and the arrangement of its spaces, as hereinafter described,.I prefer to provide it with two cooperating covers 8, 8, I ivotally mounted along opposite sides of t e compartment 3 in recesses 8, formed by the wall lates 8", similarly to the covers 7, the said covers being arranged when closed over the-said compartment to come together edge to edge, as

shown in Fig. 6.

'3, 3, indicate partition plates extending longitudinally from end to end of the coma apposite. sides of the sub-compartment 3".

' plates 3"an vertical grooves 3, the grooves on one face ing partment 3 and spaced apart to form a centrall arranged sub-compartment 3 and relative y ,narrow sab compa'trtments 3 on e opposing faces of each of'the walls'of 8 are formed with spaced being alined with the 'grpoves onthe op osace of an'fa'djacent wall or plate,'w' ich alined grooves are ada ted to receive spacing plates 3', whereb t e said sub-compartments 3" 3 ma eac bedivided into spaces .2 I y I, V I

The compartment 5, Fig. 5, isshown opened and kept therein. The compartment 3 is relatively large to -receive ink-stands, pen wipers, and pen-holder-supporting devices, Y

a sponge cup and the like,'while the subcompartments 3 are made relatively nar- 5, may receive and removably hold a tray or fiiling device 9, such'as shown in dotted lines in F1 g. 3, oreither one or both of said compartments 5, may be provided with a removable letter filing or receiving device-10, which is adapted to receive and hold letters or correspondence in classified order. The letter filing device 10 preferably comprises a series I of converging partition plates 10, having their lower ends spaced apart and yieldingly supported in the coils of a coiled springlOP secured in the bottom ofthe compartment 5,

and having their upper ends pivotedto the ,end walls of the compartment 5 to, permit the lower ends of the plate 10-'to spread apart, relatively to each other and adapt themselves to the number of letter'slfiled between them and to allow a persons hand to reach down into thecompartment to catch hold of relativel small sized lettersor correspondence, Ysuc as postal car 8, to remove them'from the filing device, when theyvare answered or permanently file away. The

pivotin means for each of the partitions l0 prefers ly comprise pins or projections car ried by the opposite ends thereof near their upper edges and slidable in grooves 10 formed in the end walls of the compartment each partition 10 may be re-* 5, whereb moved. he coil spring is referably convexed in order that the weig t of the partitions 10" and the correspondence filed between them will tend tocompress the said spring. If desired, collapsible bottoms may be provided between the partitions 8.

' 11 indicates a series of trays or race tacles arranged along one side ofand secure to the desk in any convenient manner. Preferably the upper edges of the trays or .rece tacles areon a level with'or.slightlybelow t e top surface. of the said desk. ,Eachof the trays I com rises a bottom 11" and side walls l1".

the atter being formed with a plurality of relatively wide slots 11 whichextend down to the bottom 11 tofacilitate the thorou h cleaning of the trays- As shown in t e drawings, I arrange a series of trays 1 alongboth sides of the desk 1. 12 indicates acom artment formed in the side member 1 of t e desk, adapted to removably hold a waste basketor'wa'ste tray, v 1

12, which may be supported on a bottom 12".

13 indicatesa panel'a'daplted to be opened whe ever it is desired to t row any papers into the'waste basket. The panel is'mount-- ed on or connected to the side member 1 of the desk by means of spring hinges 13 which normally operate to keep the panel 13 closed. When the panel 13 is swung down I order to permit the partitions to yield relatively to each other 1 provide a separate .coiled spring 1i between every partition.

The advantage of this construction is that lighter and cheaper springs may be used.

It will thus beseen, by the construction herein described, that the compartments 3, 4, and 5 which receive and hold the ofiice materials, utensils, records, and currentcorrespondence in convenient position for use, are formed in the desk top; that the covers 7 and 8 for the said compartments, when opened, lie below the top of the desk, and when closed, lie. in a plane with the desk top fitting snugly the sides of the compartments and operate to form a part of the top for the desk; and that the trays 11 are arranged to one side of and below the top of the desk, these features all cooperating to form a fiat top desk which can be kept in tidy condition at all times and cleared of all articles and utensils, as well as facilitating the office work of the person or clerk using the desk, and its cleaning.

What I claim is 1. A flat top desk formed with an opening in its top surface, the said opening having a main portion and a branch portion at either end thereof, plates, one for each branch portion, extending longitudinally thereof and acrossthe opposite ends of the v main portion and arranged to divide the said opening into a main compartment and two side compartments, a cover for each compartment, and means for slidably and pivotally supporting each cover in the desk.

2. A fiat top desk formed with an openk ing in its top surface, having a main ortion and a branch portion at either en of the said main portion,plates, one for each branch portion, extendmg longitudinally thereof and across the opposite ends of the i said main portion, and arranged to divide the said 0 emng into a mam compartment and two su e compartments, a wall arranged in each compartment and spaced from. one

cf the sides thereof to form a recess, covers,

one for each of sand compartments, sl dably mounted 1n sald recesses, and means for plvoting the said covers near the upper or open ends of the-recesses to permit the covers to swing downwardly to close the compartments, the covers when closed serving to form a part of the desk top.

3. A flat top desk having a sunken compartment formed therein, a wall arranged longitudinally within and spaced from one side of the said compartment to form a recess, a cover pivoted to the said desk at the upper end of said recess and arranged to slide vertically therein, and a correspondence-receiving and filing device mounted in said compartment, comprising a series of partition plates, means for )ivotally supporting the upper ends of said plates, and means for movably supporting the lower ends of said plates relatively to each other.

4. A tlattop desk having a sunken compartment formed therein, a wall arranged longitudinally within and spaced from one side of the-said compartment to form a recess, a cover pivoted to the said desk at the upper end of said recess and arranged to slide vertically therein, and a correspondence-receiving and filing device mounted in said compartment, comprising a series of partition plates, means for pivotally supporting the upper ends of said plates, and means for yieldingly-supporting thelower ends of said plates relatively to each other.

5. A fiat top desk having a sunken com partment formed therein, a wall arranged longitudinally Within and spaced from one sideof the said compartment to form a recess, a cover pivoted to the said desk at the upper end of said recess and arranged to slide vertically therein, and a correspondence-receiving and filing device mounted in said compartment, comprising a series of converging partition plates, means for pivotally supporting the upper ends of said plates, and means for movably supporting the lower ends of said plates relatively to each other.

6. A fiat top desk having a sunken compartment formed therein, a wall arranged longitudinally within and spaced from one side of the said compartment to form a recess, a cover pivoted to the said desk at the upper end of said recess and arranged to slide vertically therein, and a correspondence-receiving and filing device mounted in said compartment, comprising a series of partition plates, means for ivotally supporting the upper ends of said plates, and a coiled spring extending across the bottom of said compartment and slightly convexed and arranged to yieldingly support between its coils in spaced position, the lower ends of the said partition plates, whereby the latter may be moved relative to each other.

7. A desk having side members, one of said sidemembers being provided with a compartment, a waste basket or tray mounted in said compartment, and a panel in the front of said side member mounted on horizontal hinges to permit access to said waste 5 basket.

8. A desk having side members, one of said side members being provided with a compartment, a waste basket or tray mounted in said compartment, a panel in the front 10 of sald side member mounted on horizontal hinges to permit access to said waste basket, and means for supporting the said panel in horizontal position, whereby it may be used as a shelf or support. Intestimony whereof I afiix my signature, 1a in the presence of two witnesses.

NELLIE E. FEALY. Witnesses :v

EDWARD R. ALEXANDER, GEO. B. Prrrs. 

